WESTON, W.Va. — Police in Lewis County confiscated a large quantity of suspected fentanyl following a Labor Day weekend traffic stop.
Deputies from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Department stopped a car driven by Ramon Sims, 27, of Pittsburgh, for running a stop sign on West Second Street in Weston.
Deputies conducted an initial search for weapons of Sims and Shawn Whitely, 33, of Duquesne, and said Sims gave his verbal approval to search the car but later withdrew it.
Deputies then used a Barbour County K-9 unit to perform a free-air sniff that gave a positive indication for narcotics in the vehicle.
During a search of the vehicle, deputies noted tampering in the dash compartment and the back of the driver and passenger seat, where a white substance was found.
Whitely and Sims told deputies they were staying at the Hampton Inn on Rt. 33 in Weston.
When deputies obtained a search warrant for the room, they learned the pair had been seen driving to a known drug location, including three homes on Broad Street in Weston.
In the hotel room, police recovered a large package wrapped in green cellophane that contained bricks of suspected fentanyl and another clear bag containing suspected fetal. Whitely was found with $2,000 in cash and five stamps of suspected fentanyl.
Whitley and Sims have been charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and are being held on a $150,000 bond in the North Central Regional Jail.
Story by Mike Nolting, WAJR